


Why Did You?

by thesparrowspeaks



Series: The Zadison Chronicles [12]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Car Accidents, F/F, Hospitals, I only have a vague knowledge of how medical shit works so honestly this is probably super wrong but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21918346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesparrowspeaks/pseuds/thesparrowspeaks
Summary: Or, after there's been an accident, Madison reflects on some of her past with Zoe.
Relationships: Zoe Benson/Madison Montgomery
Series: The Zadison Chronicles [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1522634
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	Why Did You?

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.

Madison pulled the pillow over her face. It was two weeks after the party, and everything was back to normal...including Zoe deciding to take her in hand after she threw a fit in a restaurant the previous night. She groaned, wincing as she sat up long enough to grab her phone. 

It was mid-day, but the advantage of the school being closed was no one cared that Madison was still in bed. Zoe had woken her to check on her and reapply some lotion before she left the bedroom, mentioning something about helping Cordelia run errands before she left. Madison had crawled back into bed and dozed back off.

Laying back on her stomach, Madison rubbed her eyes before looking at her phone screen. It had been a few hours since Zoe left. She furrowed her brow as she opened her texts, finding none from Zoe. The errands must have been taking a while, she figured, as she typed out a proper good morning to her girlfriend.

Before she could hit Send, the door opened behind Madison. She rolled over to see who the intruder was, yelping as she did so and ready to curse out whoever dared enter without knocking. Cordelia was standing before her, face ashen and eyes glassy. All of Madison’s words died in her throat at the sight. 

“I just received a call,” Cordelia said, voice tight and in that low tone that told Madison she was doing everything she could to stay calm. “You need to get dressed and come with me at once. There’s been an accident.”

“An accident? What kind of accident? Is it Zoe? Is she-”

“She’s alive,” Cordelia said forcefully, using the tone she knew would cut through to Madison’s attention, “and she’s going to be okay. But she is currently headed to surgery to get her leg set.”

“Why didn’t she call me?” Madison said, hating herself for how much it sounded like a whimper. 

“She was knocked out in the accident,” Cordelia explained, “they got her license and called here. Now, get dressed if you’re coming with me to the hospital. Misty is getting ready too, I’m going to let Queenie know what happened, so she can tell Mallory and Coco when they get back from shopping.” She stepped out without another word.

Madison quickly shot out of bed, all thoughts of pain in her backside pushed to the back of her mind as she quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a clean tee, pulling her hair back into a bun. She grabbed her phone and sprinted downstairs, where Misty was standing by the door, chewing her nails nervously. 

“She’s okay, Maddie,” the older blonde told her quietly. “I can feel it.”

“I should have gotten up, I should have gone with her, this wouldn’t have happened if I was there-” Madison’s eyes filled with tears, her throat burning from the suppressed sob she was desperate to hold back. 

Misty immediately reached out and pulled Madison into a hug. “Don’t say that,” she whispered. “This wasn’ your fault. Can’t be. Sometimes shit just happens.”

“I should have gone with her,” Madison whimpered again. 

“If you had, it’s just as likely we’d be going to pick you both up from the hospital,” Cordelia said, rounding the corner to join them. “If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine, because I sent her out.”

“Delia-”

“But,” Cordelia added, opening the door to usher them out, “it was an accident. Which means it’s no one’s fault, and I won’t hear otherwise.”

Madison allowed herself to be led to the car, raising an eyebrow when Misty joined her in the backseat. 

“Do ya really wanna sit alone?” the swamp witch asked pointedly. 

“No,” Madison sighed, allowing herself to be pulled into an embrace once more. Her legs bounced the entire drive as she bit her lip until it bled, mentally begging Cordelia to drive faster even though she could tell the Supreme was driving as fast as she dared. 

Once they arrived, the three witches ran inside, hurrying along to the main desk, and then through a labyrinth of hallways until they found the surgical waiting area. Cordelia marched to the desk. 

“I need an update on Zoe Benson,” she said firmly. “She was brought in for a car accident.”

“One moment,” the old woman at the desk said. She clicked around her computer before looking back to Cordelia. “She’s still in surgery. Her leg was broken and they needed to insert a rod. When her doctor comes out I’ll direct him your way,” she added, smiling sweetly and patting Cordelia on the hand. 

Cordelia thanked her and led them all to a couch in the waiting area, sitting so that Madison was between the two older ones. Misty kept one reassuring hand on her knee, while Cordelia crossed her arms and watched for any sign of a surgeon coming in. 

Madison chewed her lip, ignoring Misty’s ever present need for physical affection and staring at the floor. She couldn’t shake the guilt, even if Cordelia said it wasn’t her fault, even if logically she knew Cordelia was right. Finally it became too much, and the tears spilled over. 

“Oh, Madison,” Cordelia said softly as she noticed the tear stains on the young girl’s cheeks. She held out a hand for Madison to take, and gently squeezed it when she did. “It’s going to be okay.”

Madison didn’t respond, staring forward at a point on the wall and ignoring the tears that continued to fall. She squeezed Cordelia’s hand as hard as she could, and suppressed a sob when Misty moved to put an arm around her. They were still seated like that when Queenie ventured in, Coco and Mallory holding each other tightly as they followed behind her. Madison looked up enough to tell that the younger two had been crying, before training her eyes down to the floor. 

“How is she?” Mallory asked, taking a seat next to her girlfriend. Queenie in a chair near them.

“Last we checked she’s still in surgery,” Cordelia replied, rubbing circles with her thumb over the back of Madison’s hand as she talked. “They had to put a rod in her leg. I’m not sure what else is going on, they’ll come tell us more when she’s in recovery.”

“Isn’t there...couldn’t we have fixed it easier than this?” Coco asked, dropping her voice. 

“Perhaps,” Cordelia replied, “but it’s hard to say when I don’t know the extent of her injuries. We didn’t have a chance anyway, they had her rushed here before they even found her license.”

Madison sobbed, clapping a hand over her mouth to suppress the sound. Cordelia squeezed her hand again as Misty pulled the younger blonde into her shoulder, allowing Madison to hide her face to cry. 

“Damn, Hell must really do a number on you,” Queenie said quietly. “Hard to believe you let Zoe die once.”

“Queenie!” Cordelia scolded, but Madison stopped her. 

“She’s right,” Madison sniffed. “I was selfish and I didn’t bring her back the first time she died. I wish I could take that back, but I can’t.”

“Why did you?” Mallory asked quietly. “I mean, just because I’ve seen you both in a couple of timelines now, and I know you love her...I’m just having a hard time imagining you letting her die, even if it made you the Supreme.”

Madison sat up, sniffing again and wiping her eyes. “It wasn’t just to become the Supreme.”

“Then why?” Queenie asked.

“Because I loved her,” Madison sighed. 

Coco looked up in confusion. “Wait, you loved her, so...you let her die?”

“You weren’t there,” Madison snapped, then settled back again when she felt Cordelia squeeze her hand. “We had just performed Descensum. I came back before Zoe, but I wasn’t up long. She shoots up and says her Hell was her breaking up with Kyle, over and over and over again.

“We then go on to perform the other tasks, and she impaled herself. Queenie couldn’t bring her back, and it was my turn to try and I just, I couldn’t. Not now that I knew that being without Kyle was literally Hell for her. She was always going to choose him, and it’s selfish, but...it was easier for her to be dead than it was to watch her choose someone else every day.”

“That wasn’t all to her Hell, though,” Mallory said. “She told me once, every detail, to help me prepare for the Seven Wonders.”

“She told me later,” Madison agreed, “but I didn’t know it then, did I?”

“Fair,” Mallory shrugged. 

“Anyway, I regretted it immediately, as soon as I went upstairs. And then Kyle comes in...I could have stopped him, you know. I mastered telekinesis, I could have even used mind control to make him stop, but...I deserved it. I deserved to die for being so selfish. So I let him kill me.”

“Does Zoe know all this, Madison?” Cordelia asked quietly. 

“She knows some,” Madison said quietly. Misty pulled her back down into an embrace, hugging her tightly, pleased when Madison settled into the cuddling. 

“Ya should tell her, when she’s feelin’ better,” Misty said.

“If she feels better.”

“She has a broke leg, she ain’t dyin’,” Misty said firmly. “Delia, go harass someone at a desk. I don’t know much about hospitals, but surely it don’t take this long to fix a leg.”

Cordelia nodded and silently got up, crossing back over to the desk. Misty rubbed Madison’s back as she held her, shooting glares over Madison’s head at the other three girls as if daring them to say anything about it. The other three looked away, none wanting to earn the wrath of the Supreme’s wife.

“She’s out of surgery,” Cordelia said, rejoining them, “but still in recovery. They won’t let any of us go back there until she’s awake. The doctor will come get us when we can see her, but only two of us can go at a time.”

“I’m going,” Madison said firmly, practically growling. 

“No one would fight you on that,” Misty told her. 

“I’ll go back with you at first, if that’s okay,” Cordelia said. “Then I’ll come back and take turns with everyone so they can see her.”

Madison nodded her agreement, sitting up once more, legs bouncing in anticipation. The conversation turned to other matters as the other three young witches took an interest in the sitcom playing on the waiting area television. It was silent with captions on, but Coco suggested a game where they dub in their own dialogue and quickly took over.   
Madison stayed silent, biting her lip as she sat on pins and needles, staring at the door the doctor would come out of and trying to will him out.

Finally he did, looking around for a moment before the woman at the desk pointed him to their group. He walked over and stopped in front of them. 

“Is this the family of Zoe Benson?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Cordelia said, standing. Madison stood next to her, and the others turned their attention. 

“I’m going to be blunt, but let me begin by saying the procedure was a success and she’s resting comfortably.” He paused a moment before continuing. “Miss Benson was T-boned, as they say, a car driving into her door. The impact crushed the door on her left leg, causing a fracture. We had to put a rod in to set the bone. She also has a minor concussion, as far as we can tell, and bruised ribs, as well as welts where the seat belt cut into her on impact.”

“That’s a lot,” Misty breathed. 

“It is, but she’ll be alright,” the doctor assured them. “I’ve prescribed some pain medicine to help keep her comfortable. The ribs and concussion should be fine in a couple weeks, but she’ll need to stay off her feet for six to eight weeks while the leg heals.”

“Fuck,” Madison swore quietly, not even registering the warning glare Cordelia gave her. “Can we see her now?”

“Two at a time,” the doctor said. “Go through that door, follow the signs to recovery, she’s in bed 7.” He nodded at them once more and walked off. 

“Alright Madison, let’s go,” Cordelia said, looking at the rest. “I’ll be back to trade out, decide what order you all want to go in.”

They walked off, Madison practically running until Cordelia scolded her once more, then walking as fast as she dared. She looked for the signs and followed them down the various hallways, until they came to a room with various sectioned off beds, a curtain serving as the fourth wall of the “rooms”. Madison looked for the room labeled seven and shot behind the curtain. 

“Zoe!”

“Hey,” Zoe mumbled sleepily. She was sitting up in bed, clothed in a hospital gown, small cuts and bruises on her face. Various tubes and wires were connected to her, and her leg was held up in a sling. 

“Thank fuck you’re okay,” Madison said, rushing to hug her girlfriend but still taking care to dodge the various machines and be gentle. Zoe raised one arm around her in return and yawned softly. 

“I’m okay,” she repeated, slurring it together slightly. 

“How are you feeling, hun?” Cordelia asked, moving to stand by the bed and taking her hand gently. Madison had claimed the chair by the head of the bed and was gently stroking her girlfriend’s hair. 

“’M sore,” Zoe said softly, smacking her lips. “But they just gave me more stuff. Can you pass my water?” She pointed to a water bottle with a straw in it on the table behind Madison, who immediately grabbed it and held it for Zoe, positioning the straw for her. 

They sat together for a moment, Cordelia mothering over her and making sure everything was okay. Zoe was quiet, the pain medication keeping her subdued and sleepy. Once she was sure Zoe was as comfortable as could be, Cordelia excused herself to the waiting area so that someone else could go back. 

Madison waited until she was down the hall before turning to Zoe. 

“You scared me,” Madison said quietly. 

“’M sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Madison said. “Just don’t do it anymore.”

Zoe nodded, eyes closing as she smacked her lips again. “Tired,” she whispered.

“That’s the drugs,” Madison replied. She sat and held Zoe’s hand in both of hers. “Go to sleep if you need to. The others understand.”

Zoe nodded again, weakly squeezing Madison’s hand with hers. “Love you, M,” she said softly, before her breathing became slow and even. 

“Love you too,” Madison replied. “I always have.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote a whole ass original novel in November, and then had crazy writer burnout. Woke up this morning with more Zadison feels, so here we are. Hope you enjoyed it. <3


End file.
